Story Situation:

Story Conclusion:

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Moral Affections:

Cast Size:

Locations:

Couple

Characters

Lead Role Ages:

Male Adult

Hero Type:

Ordinary

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Cards

A pair of copyrighters continue their career-long battle long after retirement.

There’s a lot to like about “Cards,” a short script by award-winning screenwriter Rick Hansberry. First of all, it’s so well-written that it’s a special treat for those of us who simply enjoy reading screenplays. If that’s you, go ahead and give it a read. The atmosphere is nearly perfect, vivid characters abound, and snappy dialogue almost leaps from the page. It’s a pleasure to read.

More importantly, though, “Cards” is a filmmaker’s dream. It tells a heart-warming story about life-long “frenemies" with a touch of humor and an element of suspense. There’s even a little romance in the air. All in five pages!

Fred and Jack, two curmudgeonly 70-somethings, have been friendly rivals for many years, in fact long before the portmanteau “frenemies” was coined. Every morning, they meet in the local greasy-spoon diner to needle each other -- under the watchful eye of Ida, the waitress, who ensures their needling stays cordial. Without her scrutiny, there’s a good chance it might not. As the script tells us, “Ida dangles the coffee pot over their mugs. Her eyebrows arch, inferring that if they don’t behave, no refills.” They behave. Mostly.

And each morning as they munch their breakfast to the sound of golden oldies on the juke box, they have a friendly/not-so-friendly competition. They scribble feverishly on their paper napkins, and when they’re done, Ida judges the results. Her verdict this morning? “They’re both good,” she says. Rats!

But what do they scribble on those napkins every morning? That’s the real question. We don’t find out until the end of the script, but when we do we also learn a lot about Fred and Jack. And that’s the heart of the story.

“Cards” is a sweet slice of life, and it would be extremely simple to film. One location -- a diner. Three very choice roles for some “seasoned” actors, and a few extras. This could easily be a film festival favorite.

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The Writer: Rick Hansberry

Rick Hansberry is an award-winning screenwriter with more than 20 years of industry experience. With several produced credits on his IMDb page, Rick has written, produced and directed several short films. 2017 saw the release of two feature-length films, "Alienate" and "Evil In Her." 2018 brought the release of another award-winning short film, "My Two O'Clock" and a second micro-short, "Missed Stop" was released late in 2018 and is still screening in certain world-wide festivals.

Rick has dozens of scripts available for production and is also interested in spec writing, collaborating and adapting stories for the screen. Go to bio

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